Middlesex County Landscaper Admits Failing To Report Over $1 Million Of Income

The owner of Silver Creek Landscaping, a business which provides landscaping and snow removal services based in Middlesex County, pleaded guilty on Monday to filing false personal income tax returns, according to Acting Special Agent in Charge, Jonathan D. Larsen, Criminal Investigator for the Internal Revenue Service’s field office in Newark.

Gregory Zambardi, 40, entered his guilty plea in federal court before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark on December 15. Zambardi pleaded guilty to a one count information that charges him with subscribing to false personal tax returns for the 2008 through 2010 calendar years.

“Mr. Zambardi’s attempt to hide his true income from the Internal Revenue Service was a theft from the American public,” stated Agent Larsen. “To build faith in our nation’s tax system, honest taxpayers need to be reassured that everyone is paying their fair share.”

At his plea hearing and according to court documents:

Zambardi was the sole owner and operator of Silver Creek Landscaping. Zambardi maintained three bank accounts at three different banks into which he deposited the gross receipts earned from Silver Creek. Silver Creek was set up as a sole proprietorship and therefore, Zambardi was required to report the gross receipts earned from the business on Schedule C of his personal tax returns. For the calendar years 2008, 2009 and 2010, Zambardi failed to report as income on his personal tax returns the gross receipts deposited into two of the three business bank accounts he maintained for Silver Creek.

Specifically, Zambardi admitted that he failed to report as income the following amounts during the following years:

• 2008 -  $332,333.51,
• 2009 - $433,905.48, and
• 2010 - $372,082.12.

The charge of subscribing to a false tax return carries a statutory maximum prison sentence of three years and a statutory maximum fine equal to the greatest of: (1) $250,000; (2) twice the gross amount of any pecuniary gain derived from the offense; or (3) twice the gross amount of any pecuniary loss sustained by any victims of the offense.

The investigation was conducted by IRS-Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose R. Almonte.

Sentencing for Zambardi is scheduled for March 23, 2015.